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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has published a final rule amending the regulation that implements 23 U.S.C. 410, under which states can receive incentive grants for alcohol-impaired driving prevention programs. The final rule implements changes that were made to the Section 410 program by the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy For Users (SAFETEA-LU). States can qualify for a Section 410 grant as “low fatality rate states” if they have an alcohol-related fatality rate of 0.5 or less per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT). Under the second alternative, states may qualify as “programmatic states” if they demonstrate that they meet three of eight grant criteria for fiscal year 2006, four of eight grant criteria for fiscal year 2007, and five of eight grant criteria for fiscal years 2008 and 2009. SAFETEA-LU provides for a separate grant to the ten states that are determined to have the highest rates of alcohol-related driving fatalities. This final rule establishes the criteria states must meet and the procedures they must follow to qualify for Section 410 grants, beginning in FY 2006. This final rule takes effect on June 20, 2006. For programmatic issues, contact Carmen Hayes, Highway Safety Specialist, Injury Control Operations & Resources at (202) 366-2121. For legal issues, contact Roland (R.T.) Baumann III, Attorney-Advisor, Legislation and General Law Division, Office of the Chief Counsel at (202) 366-1834.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute have released new research showing that nearly 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involved some form of driver inattention within three seconds before the crash. The 100-Car Naturalistic Driving Study tracked the behavior of the drivers of 100 vehicles equipped with video and sensor devices for more than one year. During that time, the vehicles were driven nearly 2,000,000 miles, yielding 42,300 hours of data. The 241 drivers of the vehicles were involved in 82 crashes, 761 near crashes, and 8,295 critical incidents. The 100-Car Study and its follow-on analysis were co-sponsored by NHTSA, the Virginia Transportation Research Council (the research division of the Virginia Department of Transportation) and Virginia Tech. Following these results, the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) has urged legislators not to pass laws addressing every type of driver behavior. Three states and the District of Columbia have enacted cell phone bans and other jurisdictions have enacted broader bans against driver distraction. GHSA warns that it is important for NHTSA to fund studies to review the impacts of these laws before additional jurisdictions enact such laws. The study and analysis are available on NHTSA's Web site.

According to a preliminary report recently released by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), 43,200 people died in car crashes in 2005, an increase from 42,636 in 2004. Injuries, however, dropped 4.1 percent, from 2.79 million in 2004 to 2.68 million in 2005. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta has declared highway traffic deaths a "national tragedy" and has asked all Americans to wear safety belts and motorcycle helmets, and to drive sober. The preliminary report projects a fatality rate of 1.46 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, which is up from 2004's record low of 1.44. Nationwide safety belt use is at 82 percent, a historic high. However, the majority of passenger vehicle occupants who died in 2005 were unbelted. NHTSA collects the crash statistics from 50 states and the District of Columbia to produce the annual report on traffic fatality trends. The final 2005 report, pending completion of data collection and quality control verification, will be available in late summer. Summaries of the preliminary reports are available on NHTSA's Web site.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has published a final rule that amends the definition of "low-speed vehicle" (LSV) by increasing the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) limit for the class of LSVs to those vehicles with a GVWR of less than 1,361 kilograms (3,000 pounds). This rule takes effect June 5, 2006. If you wish to submit a petition for reconsideration of this rule, your petition must be received by June 5, 2006. Petitions for reconsideration should refer to docket number NHTSA-06-24488 and be submitted to: Administrator, Room 5220, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. For legal issues, contact Christopher M. Calamita, Office of the Chief Counsel at (202) 366-2992). For other issues, contact Gayle Dalrymple, Office of Crash Avoidance Standards at (202) 366-5559.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has published a final rule announcing that the amendments to the agency's National Driver Register (NDR) regulations will remain in effect with one minor change. The amendments were originally published in an interim final rule to reflect changes made to the National Driver Register Act of 1982 by Section 1061 of the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005. The amendments authorize a federal department or agency that investigates an individual for the purpose of determining the individual’s eligibility to access national security information to request and receive information from the National Driver Register, upon request and consent of the individual. This final rule establishes the procedures for individuals to request and for the federal department or agency to receive NDR information. This final rule becomes effective on June 19, 2006. For program issues, contact Sean McLaurin, Chief, National Driver Register at (202) 366-4800. For legal issues, contact Roland (R.T.) Baumann III, Attorney-Advisor, Office of the Chief Counsel at (202) 366-1834.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company have released new Gallup survey results that show 96 percent of Americans considered underage drinking a "serious problem" and two-thirds said it was a "very serious problem." In addition, the survey shows that 91 percent of the public supports initiatives to prevent underage drinking during prom season. Teens are currently participating in such a program, MADD's BuzzFree Prom sponsored by Nationwide, which is a school-based program where students pledge to be safe and sober on prom night. Nearly half of all 15- to 20-year-olds killed in car crashes during prom season 2004 involved alcohol. MADD released a previous Gallup survey on drunk driving and underage drinking in 2000. Data shows that levels of support for increased initiatives to reduce underage drinking increased from 2000 to 2005. For more information, see MADD's Web site.password.